WARNING:
This Digest was prepared for debate. It reflects the legislation as
introduced and does not canvass subsequent amendments. This Digest
does not have any official legal status. Other sources should be
consulted to determine the subsequent official status of the
Bill.
CONTENTS
Fuel Blending (Penalty Surcharge) Bill 1997
Date Introduced: 25 June 1997
House: House of Representatives
Portfolio: Industry, Science and Tourism
Commencement: On commencement of the Excise
Tariff (Fuel Rates Amendments) Act 1997
To impose a penalty surcharge on the blending of marked and
unmarked fuel.
The reader is referred to the Bills Digest for the Excise Tariff
(Fuel Rates Amendments) Bill 1997.
The use of a 'marker' (a chemical additive) in petroleum
products which are free of duty (for use other than as a fuel), or
at a low rate of duty (for use as a fuel other than in an internal
combustion engine), is the centrepiece of the measures proposed to
prevent the substitution of concessionally taxed petroleum products
for higher taxed transport fuels.The presence of the marker will be
evidence of substitution and will be the criterion for the penalty
surcharge under this Bill.
Clause 5 imposes the penalty on the blending of
marked and unmarked fuel if the resulting mixture is itself marked
fuel, that is, if it contains the marker at or above a prescribed
proportion to be determined by regulation (Item 5C of Schedule 1 of
the Excise Tariff (Fuel Rates Amendments) Bill 1997
refers).Clause 5 also states that the penalty
surcharge will be imposed on all the fuel in the blend.Under
Clause 6 the penalty is payable by the person
owning the fuel immediately after it is blended.
Clause 7 sets out the rate of the penalty
surcharge which is twice the maximum excise payable on automotive
diesel fuel.In theory the penalty surcharge applies to every person
who blends fuel.However Clause 14 of the Fuel (Penalty Surcharges)
Administration Bill 1997 exempts from record keeping obligations
those people who blend fuel in volumes less than a threshold (to be
determined by regulation), so in practical terms, the 'average
motorist' may never be audited and will not be affected by the
provisions.
Rosemary Bell
4 September 1997
Bills Digest Service
Information and Research Services
This Digest does not have any official legal status. Other
sources should be consulted to determine whether the Bill has been
enacted and, if so, whether the subsequent Act reflects further
amendments.
IRS staff are available to discuss the paper's contents
with Senators and Members and their staff but not with members of
the public.
ISSN 1328-8091
© Commonwealth of Australia 1997
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of the Australian Parliament in the course of their official
duties.
Published by the Department of the Parliamentary Library,
1997.
This page was prepared by the Parliamentary Library,
Commonwealth of Australia
Last updated: 9 September 1997
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